The present invention relates generally to connectors for terminating coaxial cable. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coaxial cable connector providing an attachment method relying on frictional forces and enhanced cable locking methods to improve mechanical and electrical performance of the connector.
It has long been known to use connectors to terminate coaxial cable so as to connect a cable to various electronic devices such as televisions, radios and the like. Conventional coaxial cables typically include a center conductor surrounded by an insulator. A conductive foil is disposed over the insulator and a braided conductive shield surrounds the foil covered insulator. An outer insulative jacket surrounds the shield. In order to prepare the coaxial cable for termination, the outer jacket is stripped back exposing an extent of the braided conductive shield which is folded back over the jacket. A portion of the insulator covered by the conductive foil extends outwardly from the jacket and an extent of the center conductor extends outwardly from within the insulator. Such a prepared cable may be terminated in a conventional coaxial connector.
Prior art coaxial connectors generally include a connector body having an annular collar for accommodating a coaxial cable, an annular nut rotatably coupled to the collar for providing mechanical attachment of the connector to an external device and an annular post interposed between the collar and the nut. Upon assembly to a coaxial cable, the annular post is inserted between the foil covered insulator and the conductive shield of the cable. A resilient sealing O-ring may also be positioned between the collar and the nut at the rotatable juncture thereof to provide a water resistant seal thereat. The collar includes a cable receiving end for insertably receiving an inserted coaxial cable and, at the opposite end of the connector body, the nut includes an internally threaded end extent permitting screw threaded attachment of the body to an external device.
This type of coaxial connector further includes a locking sleeve to secure the cable to the connector body of the coaxial connector. The locking sleeve, which is typically formed of a resilient plastic, is securable to the connector body to secure the coaxial connector thereto. In this regard, the connector body typically includes some form of structure to cooperatively engage the locking sleeve. Such structure may include one or more recesses or detents formed on an inner annular surface of the connector body, which engages cooperating structure formed on an outer surface of the sleeve. A coaxial cable connector of this type is shown and described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,807.
Such coaxial connectors are generally manufactured in large quantities at relatively low costs. Two cost factors in manufacturing these connectors are the complexity and the material of the individual connector components that are required for assembly. For example, it is desirable from a cost perspective to manufacture the connector components from plastic. However, molding complex structural features, such as engagement recesses and detents, into the internal diameter of the connector body are not practical, because such features hamper the opening of the mold. Methods to circumvent this mold limitation are also costly.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a coaxial connector having improved cable gripping capabilities, while utilizing simply designed and easily manufactured components. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a coaxial connector with cable gripping features that prevent the cable from being easily pulled out of the connector.